


Yours since 1976

by bymak



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: #fluffiest of the fluffs, #maybe not that fluffy but there's love, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bymak/pseuds/bymak
Summary: When Captain Jonathan O'Neill meets the young daughter of his new CO, she steals his heart with her smile. Over the years he meets the young girl again. As the years go by, she grows as does his love for her.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 57
Kudos: 111





	1. 1976

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Loverustal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loverustal/gifts).



> Hey there, this is going to be short and kinda sweet.
> 
> So, welcome back to my crazy mind :D
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> M.

**1976**

She was barely seven years old when he first met her. He was already twenty-four.

Her blue eyes were striking, showcasing a bright and curious gaze profound beyond her years. Her blond hair, tied in two little ponytails, wiggled whenever she shook her head, which she did often. Her smile was radiant, contagious, and it was also missing one tooth. He would tell no one, not even her, that he thought he fell in love with her that very first moment. When she smiled at him.

"Hi, I'm Carter," she grinned at him. Little hand extending in an offering.

"Hi, Carter. I'm ..." he started to answer. Smiling back at her and shaking the little hand that got almost swallowed in his adult one.

"Samantha! We are all 'Carter' in this house, honey. It would be a bit confusing for the Captain to call you 'Carter'. Then have all four of us turning around to answer," Rose Carter smiled at him. "Sorry about that, Captain…"

"O'Neill. You can call me Jack, ma'am." He said, a charming smile quick on his lips. The girl frowned.

"Can I call you Jack too?" Samantha asked, looking at him. Doubt etched on the child's features.

"Sure, kiddo," he agreed easily.

"I'm not kiddo," she rolled her eyes. "I'm Sam," another smile. He couldn't help but warm up to the smart little daughter of his CO.

For reasons unknown to Rose and Jacob Carter, their soon to be eight-years-old took a liking to the Captain. He had just been transferred under Jacob's command barely a week earlier. Jack O'Neill was now living on the base near them. That day, Samantha searched for him whenever he was alone. She talked to him about anything she could come up with. Surprising Jack because it was a vast catalog of subjects that surely should be way over the mind of any seven-year-old.

"It's nineteen hundred, Jack," she states later that night. When she found him sitting alone in one of the darkest spots of the Carter on-base house-yard. He had just shared a meal with the Carters. Now, he was waiting for his CO to finish his night before they could meet. Jack shook his head, concentrating on the kid.

"What is that supposed to mean, Sam?" Jack asked, turning around to face her. Little shoulders shrugged in dismissal.

"That I will be dragged to bed soon," she sighed. Plopping herself on the ground next to him. "I like the stars, Jack. I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. What are you doing here by yourself, anyway? It is super dark here."

"Ah, I was stargazing," Jack shrugged unconcernedly.

"Really? Can you teach me?"

"Whoa, something I can teach you?" He asked, surprised. She chuckled.

"I don't know everything, Jack." She blushed. "Will you teach me?"

"Sure. See that one over there?" wondered, pointing to a bright star.

"Samantha! Bedtime!" Rose shouted inside the little house.

"Oh, no," Sam sighed, standing up and patting her dress clean. A disheartened expression on her face.

"Samantha! Where are you?" Her mother tried again.

"I have to go now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Jack," she grinned.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Kiddo," he said.

"It's not 'kiddo,' you can call me either Carter or Sam," she glared at him. Placing her little fists on her hips. Something he had seen Jacob Carter do when he was pissed off. In all his years, he would never forget that first glare. It showed exactly how much power she was hiding inside. But back then, he'd only raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Goodnight, Sam," he corrected himself. The girl nodded before she turned around and rushed inside her house.

Surprising himself, Jack had offered to babysit the Carter kids several times during the duration of his post. Feeling oddly proud when months later, the girl had decided to deem him, of all the people, her best friend forever.


	2. 1981

**1981**

She wasn't even thirteen when she'd lost her mother. She'd searched for him. He was already twenty-nine and stationed at Blytheville.

It was an unforeseen event that had caused Jack to find out about the accident that had ended Rose Carter's life. It was fortuitous maybe, that the one person who had let him know about it, was also aware where he could find the Carter's. So, with the information in hand, Jack had called his old CO to pay his respects. After all, during the almost two years he'd served under Jacob Carter's command, Jack had found a soft spot for Rose Carter and their kids.

"Carter," Mark answered the phone in a biting tone before Sam could reach it. As it was the norm during those days, Jacob was nowhere to be found. Most likely hiding at work just to avoid looking at his kids that looked so much like his Rose.

"Hi, my name is Jack O'Neill. I'm searching for Jacob Carter," the voice on the other end of the line told him.

"He is not here. Call later," Mark barked. Hanging the phone without giving whoever it was time to say anything.

"Mark, I told you I was coming!" Sam fumed at her younger brother.

"Yeah, well. It wasn't for you either," Mark rolled his eyes. "It was for _Sir_ ," he sneered.

"Who was it?" Sam frowned.

"Some guy, Jack O'Neil, he said. It's not like you're going to give _Sir_ the message," he waved in dismissal. Before rushing to the second floor, not noticing how disturbed his sister looked.

Sam eyed the phone for a while. Thanking whoever had invented the caller ID display before fiddling with it. She touched the numbers on the screen softly. Deciding she could always fall back and say she'd dialed the wrong number. She picked up the receiver and pressed the numbers quickly.

"O'Neill," the voice, his voice, came from the other end of the phone line. She took a deep breath. "Hello?" he tried again since no one had spoken. "Hmm, can you hear me?"

"Jack?" Sam whispered. Almost half the country away, Jack gasped.

"Sam? Sammie? Is that you," He asked, surprised. Her voice didn't sound childish anymore, but it was unmistakably hers.

"Jack, my mom…" she trailed off. Voice wavering with the tears she held back.

"I know, Sam. I was calling because I got word of her accident." He mumbled softly, his heart going out to her. Breaking for the heartbreak she must be feeling.

"She passed away, Jack," Sam whispered, composing herself. Jack understood that beyond that whisper, the little girl who had deemed him his best friend forever was hurting more than anyone her age should.

"I'm so sorry, Sam. I wish I could do anything to help you through it."

"Yeah," Sam whispered. "I wish you could too."

Jack could hear the pain in her voice. He could almost feel the grimace she would be sporting. Holding herself together, being just a brave kid. He could almost imagine her expression. Even if he couldn't come up with how she looked now, not after so long.

"Jack?" She sobered up after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for calling," she let out. He was about to joke and tell her she was the one who called him. However, something inside stopped him from doing it. She was a hurting child, his little friend.

"No problem, Sam. That's what best friends forever do, right?" Jack said lightly, and she chuckled slightly.

"I'm not sure, Jack. You're the only friend I've ever had," she confessed. Another moment passed between them. A wordless one where she didn't want him to go, and he didn't quite know what to say. "I have to go now, lunch is burning."

She hung the phone before he could add something more or ask questions. Try to understand why or when he'd gone from "best friend forever" to "my only friend." Still, her confession weighed on him. For the next few weeks, he'd called her, if only to know if his little friend was somewhat okay.

Even though his little friend wasn't quite improving, Jack knew she was expecting his phone calls a bit more than any kid should. So, excusing himself with his next mission, he disappeared out of her life.

Sam Carter was resilient, and he knew that. He simply knew the kid would not only survive, but thrive.


	3. 1985

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure these are the shortest things I've written in a while...

She was sixteen when he met his little friend. Or rather, she'd just turned sixteen two months ago. Seeing her then became the last time he thought of her as his little friend. He was well on his way to turning thirty-two.

Jack was doing a quick stop at Mather AFB on his way abroad. When walking around he thought he saw his old CO.

"Lieutenant Colonel Carter?" he called. He then stood to salute him as the man turned around with a frown.

"It's Colonel Carter now," Jacob said. Not quite recognizing the man in front of him, but saluting him, nonetheless. Jack felt scrutinized by the older man.

"Major O'Neill?" Jacob asked, surprised. Noticing the new rank on Jack's shoulders. He smiled. "Jack, it's nice to see you, son," he said, patting his shoulders.

"Dad," Jack grinned, making the old man shake his head.

Calling Jacob 'dad' had stuck around the third time Jack had babysat his kids. Mark had insisted that 'dad' was not 'Jacob' or 'Colonel' and that 'mom' was not 'Rose,' nor 'ma'am.' So, after looking at the parents, Jack had started to call Jacob and Rose Carter 'dad' and 'mom' whenever he was around the kids. "How are things? It's been a while…"

"Well, not as good as one might think," Jacob grimaced. "You? What are you doing here?"

"Things are good, I'm just passing through."

"Being deployed?"

"Yeah."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow at zero nine hundred."

"Lucky you," Jacob muttered. "Come tonight for dinner? I'm sure the kids would love to see you."

"I'm not sure they'll even remember me, dad. I would love to see them, though."

"Then, it's all set."

Jacob scribbled his address on a piece of paper he'd found on him, and then he walked away. When the hour they had agreed upon came, Jack nervously knocked on the door of the small condo that seemed to be the Carters' current home.

"And you are?" the door opened to reveal a lanky and grumpy teen.

"Mark?" Jack frowned. Finding the kid he used to know, hiding behind older features and the disgruntled look.

"Yeah," Mark answered.

"Is your dad home?"

"Colonel! There's someone at the door for you!" Mark almost spat as he walked inside. Jack flinched, not only at the way the kid had screamed but at the bitter way he called his dad 'Colonel.'

"Jack, I'm glad you made it. Come on in, son."

"Thanks, I... Brought some soda," he said awkwardly. "I thought about bringing wine, then I figured it was too… adult…"

The Colonel walked Jack inside the house. If it looked small from the outside, it was giving a better impression of how minimal it was from the inside. It took them two steps to enter the open dining room. That only held a table for four and gave little space to a small kitchen.

"Sammie," Jacob called. If looks could kill, Jack would've been witness to a homicide.

"Do not call me Sammie!" Sam hissed at him. "I take whoever your friend is, finally showed up?" She almost barked.

"Sam," Jacob warned.

"Dinner is ready, Colonel," she snarled at her father. Ignoring him further as she moved towards the oven to pick up the lasagna she'd made for them. "Mark!" she shouted. Then she noticed him, looking completely out of place in her living room, out of all possible situations.

"Jack?" Sam asked. Eyeing him with a frown somewhere between confused and hopeful.

"Sam. You look… grown," he added. She chuckled. Jacob did a double-take to look at her. It had been a good while since the last time he'd heard anything as nice coming out from his only daughter's mouth.

"That's how life works, Jack," she shrugged. "I hope you like dinner."

Dinner went almost well. It was a quiet affair. The lasagna was delicious. Jack only stopped himself from going for thirds because there were no more pieces left. Except for the one, Sam kept pushing around her plate.

Mark had finished and excused himself before going away. Not even bothering to stop when Jacob had called for him. When the oldest Carter stood up to find his son, Sam had picked all the plates up. With a grimace, she excused herself away from who she'd once deemed 'her only friend.'

Jacob returned not long after that. They talked some more about Jack's next destination until Sam was finally done with the kitchen. Noticing he was, in fact, intruding on what looked like a very messed up version of the family he'd once known. Jack excused himself, not long after, under the pretense of having many things to get done before the next day. Jacob nodded in understanding and walked him to the door.

"It was nice to see you again, dad," Jack said. Receiving a pat on his shoulder, he finally turned around and walked away towards the rental car he'd gotten, just to be able to visit them.

"I never thought I would ever see you again," a voice, her voice, said behind his back. Granted, it now sounded different from how he remembered it. It had lost all the remnants of the childish tone she'd once had. He turned around and gulped.

She was leaning against the tree that happened to be close to his car. Her feet were clad in combat boots, the right one pressed against the tree trunk. Dark tights covered her legs and gave way to a very short skirt. Then there was skin, lots and lots of creamy white skin. Showing an abdomen that was very trained. And Holy Hannah! The girl had grown. He hadn't noticed before with the clothes she'd had on inside the house. Now, her full breasts were barely covered by a thin, short scrap of fabric. If he was honest, he couldn't even start to call that a blouse. He followed his inspection only to find a long soft looking neck and her face.

Her eyes were glimmering in the moonlight. She was smiling knowingly under his inspection of her attire. He gulped. He knew she was underage! Heck! He knew she was the bubbly kid he'd babysat!.

She most definitely was not a kid anymore.

Sam tilted her head. Moving one hand to clear her hair from her face once again. He saw it then, as her other hand raised towards her face. The cigarette found a place between her pursed lips. The tip burned bright red as she inhaled it deeply. She didn't cough, and that pointed him to this being a habit for her.

"Holy Hannah, Sam! What the hell are you doing?" He launched himself forward. Grabbing the offending thing out of her hand. Throwing it to the floor and effectively snuffing it off. She raised her eyebrow, not amused.

"My dad doesn't care, so why would you?" She added with a shrug.

"I care for you, Sam. I always have," Jack explained. It broke his heart that she looked at him as if someone caring for her was a foreign concept to her. "Cigarettes are bad for you."

"Life is bad for me," Sam added with a shrug. As if that explained everything.

"No, it isn't. You have food, a house, family. Come on, Sam. You used to have so many dreams."

"Well, I don't have them anymore."

"What? What happened to your dreams of becoming an astronaut?" He asked.

"It's highly unrealistic, Jack. As life goes, I'll be a success if I manage not to get pregnant and married before school ends."

"Samantha Carter," Jack said, entering her personal space without knowing why. "It's not… You have such a big brain! Geez, Sam, you could teach me things when you were barely a squirt. Use it to get your ass to the academy! You'll be an astronaut in no time," he added.

"You really think so?" She wondered.

"Yeah, sure, you betcha!" He grinned.

"Why do you have so much faith in me? You barely know me anymore, Jack," she pointed out.

"Because I knew you once, very well. I know what's still there," he said, pointing to her head, "and there," he added. Lowering his hand near her heart, but not touching her. She gasped, before Jack knew it, and could react, Sam launched herself forward and kissed him clumsily on the lips.

She broke the kiss quickly, licking her lower lip slowly. She bit it then, and he still couldn't bring himself to react or understand what had just happened. "Good luck, Jack," she added, getting away from him quickly, and getting lost in the dark.

He saw her enter through a window on the side of the house. That was the last time he saw her, or any of the Carters' for a long while.


	4. 1989

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might have screwed up the timeline year for this one... Anyway! It wouldn't fit in any other year :D  
> Enjoy!

She was nineteen when he saw her again. The first thing he recognized wasn't her voice, but the striking mischievous blue eyes challenging him during a lecture. They ordered him a tour as a teacher at the academy. Something in him broke when he decided she had finally forgotten all about him. She was nineteen. Her entire life lay ahead of her. He was months away from turning thirty-five. Under her glance, Jack felt old.

"Major O'Neill," a girl from the group she was in, had called him. He couldn't help but stop.

His eyes landed on her briefly. Her hair was regulation short now. There were more carefree smiles. There was no sign of the childish features he once knew. She had outgrown them all. Despite sharing the same teen-like features of that troubled girl, who had clumsily kissed him most likely as a show of rebellion. There was no sign of her either.

"Yes, Cadet?" he asked the one who had called him. While trying hard not to ogle her. He was trying to figure out if she'd recognized him or not. He had a hard time reading her. When the group of third-year cadets had finally left him to go to their next class, Jack shook his head as they giggled, overly excited.

"God! He is so hot!" Jack overheard one say in a loud whisper. Then Sam turned around and winked at him.

The wink had him confused. He had a girlfriend in Colorado. Not even her kisses riled him up as much as that innocent gesture had. So, whenever his class ended. Jack found himself going to study hall knowing she was bound to make an appearance there sooner or later.

It was almost a week later when his plan had come to fruition. As he entered the study hall, he spotted the blonde hair nose deep in a book. He smiled, that image brought back memories of the long-forgotten past.

"Cadet Carter," Jack said. Sam raised her eyes from her book to look at him.

"Major O'Neill, sir?" She answered with a smile. There was a glint in her eyes. He found himself trying to shake his brain back to the reason he was standing there. However, it wasn't unknown to him he'd fallen in love with those beautiful eyes a long time ago.

"May I, Carter?" he asked, pointing to the chair in front of her. Remembering vividly her seven-year-old self, asking him to call her that. She nodded.

"Hmm, I never thought you would call me Carter," she smiled impishly, "sir."

"You'd rather having me calling you Cadet?" He asked seriously. Sam shook her head no.

"I'd rather you'd called me Sam, but since that's out of the question here…" she waved. "Carter will have to do, right?"

"There are rules," he stopped himself, "Carter."

"I know. I am painfully aware of them all," Sam nodded. There was something in the way she looked at him he couldn't quite grasp. "What do you need, sir?" She squinted at him. As if she could read what he couldn't quite figure out himself.

"Ah, it's something silly," he waved in dismissal. She frowned, curiosity taking over her expression quickly. "I wanted to know if you still recognized me," he said before she asked.

"You're kidding, right? How couldn't I recognize my best friend forever, sir?" Carter grinned. The tip of her ears burning red at her confession.

"I'm glad to know I'm not your only friend anymore, Carter," Jack whispered. His hand aching to reach out and touch hers, but he kept them firmly placed where they were. "I really am." A fleeting glance, deeper than it should be allowed passed by. Jack shuffled in his seat. "Well, I should go before someone thinks we are doing something we're not supposed to," he grimaced, standing up.

"Sir?" She called him, stopping him from moving away. Her hand burning to reach for his and give it a small reassuring squeeze. Even if she wasn't sure if she wanted to reassure him or herself. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today."

"I-I…" Jack tried. Sam shook her head, closed her book, and walked away from him towards the reception. He wondered if it would always be her the one running and he the one staying dumbfounded at something she did or said. Yet, given her smarts, he was sure it would most likely always be the case.

Now, however, he knew for sure that; somehow, and somewhere along the lines, he had fallen deeply in love with her. A kid… He was crazier than he first thought. Shaking his head, Jack corrected himself. He had loved Sam since the day he had met her, in all her bubbly childish glory. But now, the steadfast love he felt for that kid was also transforming into a profound attraction on his side. One that he was willing to fight at all costs. He wasn't some pedophilic ass. She was, above all, his friend.

It wasn't until a couple of months had rolled under his year at the academy. She had turned twenty. He finally couldn't escape the truth. His very young best friend was a woman, too. A gorgeous one at that.

Of course, Sam, being herself, was utterly oblivious of her beauty. She was deemed the hottest woman at the academy by every male who had eyes. She didn't realize it, and Jack knew it. Most likely feeling the guilt of her younger years. When she had done, only God knew what to keep herself from missing her mom. He remembered the teen he had encountered. If he was in her school at her age… Well, there wasn't much he wouldn't have done. Yet, he was sixteen years her senior and chastised himself. He should keep thoughts like those out of his mind.

During the entire year, they kept their friendship mostly hidden over brief conversations at the study hall. Keeping the distance needed between teacher and student. Observing the rules.

In those short meetings, she rewarded him with glittering eyes and honest laughs. By the end of the school year, he was surprised once more. Sam planted a kiss, this time only on his cheek; before, she left with her friends ready to celebrate the end of her third year at the academy.

The thing that had surprised him the most was that, for someone so old and experienced as he was, such a simple action shouldn't have made that much chaos in his mind. And yet, it did. It took him months to forget any trace of the lingering lips on his cheek.


	5. 1991

She was only twenty-two when she got word that he got married. Her entire world collapsed again. He was thirty-nine.

He decided he was too old to keep that childish crush he had on Samantha Carter alive and growing. She was a child with her entire life ahead of her. He was nothing more than a grumpy Lt. Colonel with a past that darkened with every special ops mission he took.

He'd found Sarah a couple of months after his stint at the academy, and between some missions their relationship became serious. She reminded him of Sam enough to make him feel something. Then, he got word that his Sam, as green as she was, was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant straight in the middle of the Gulf War. For some reason, the fear of losing Sam made him propose to Sarah. So, he was a married man when he ended up being transferred to that same base she was on.

"Lt. Coronel O'Neill?" Sam greeted him.

It was fate; she thought. Knowing that he was there in a different chain of command despite that, she was the one sent to receive him. Jack had turned around to those words. He wasn't sure if it was because he was used to people calling him just Colonel, or because it was that voice, her voice, daring him to turn around. He figured he had no other choice but to face her.

"Captain," Jack said, surprised. "Congratulations."

"Thanks! Someone thought I was good enough for it, I suppose. Hmm, sir," she blushed under his gaze. "Come with me, I'll take you to your CO, sir."

He followed her, unable to take his eyes off of her. If the Cadet uniform looked good on her, the BDUs were magnificent. It was then when he realized he had it bad.

"Lt. Colonel O'Neill," Jack's CO greeted him.

"General Keeter, sir."

"I heard you got married, O'Neill. I can't believe there's anyone out there that would be crazy enough to try to tame you," Keeter joked. Jack's eyes fell on his younger friend, his Sam. Her previously glimmering eyes had become darker. He could feel a wall forming around her.

"Yeah, I can't believe she agreed either," he stated.

It was later that night when he spotted her leaving the base mess hall. It was impossible not to. The moment she stood up, every pair of eyes followed her every move. Yet, she still didn't notice how attractive she really was. He followed her, hoping no one would connect the dots. Not that he cared if anyone did.

"Carter," he called once he was out, and she was a few feet away. She stopped and nodded towards the other side of the field. They walked in silence, getting further away from the base. Towards a darkened area.

"Where are we going? And why is no-one stopping us?" Jack asked. They saluted people as they strolled away from base camp.

"I've been here for two years. They all know where I'm going," Sam shrugged as she continued walking.

Sam slowed down as they reached a deserted place. She pointed out to him a small valley. They walked to it. Lost in her own thoughts, she sat on the sand waiting for him to do the same and maybe even talk to her. That one, he didn't.

"Do you still stargaze, Colonel?" Sam asked, leaning back on the sand floor.

"It's been a while since I had the time," Jack answered. "And please… It's just us, don't call me Colonel, okay?"

"Lean back, Jack," she said. He turned to watch her.

Jack had to squint to get used to the small amount of light they had, which was coming from the skyline alone. The base camp light far away and almost totally dimmed out of their views. His night vision was perfect, and he saw her. She was lying on her back, legs half extended, with her hands resting linked on top of her stomach.

"Are you going to watch me, or the stars, Jack?" Sam asked with a chuckle.

"Are you okay?" Jack countered as an answer. Sam sighed.

"I'm always okay, Jack. I've mastered being always okay, for a long time now."

"What does that mean?" he frowned.

"You're married," she stated.

"Yes."

"Do you love her?" Sam asked. For some reason, he thought he heard some pain in her voice. He couldn't think of any reason for pain to exist, laced in her question.

"Yeah," he answered a while later, finally laying back beside her and not looking at her.

"Good," she said. "Enjoy the stars, Colonel," Sam added. The icy tone in which she said his rank made him squirm in place.

"Will do, Captain," Jack agreed.

They remained in silence for a while. Until the cold was too much to bear while being still for long. Then they walked back to base camp in the utmost silence. Two days later, Sam was recommissioned to DC. A week after that, Jack went MIA.


	6. 1994

She was twenty-five when he got the most significant blow of them all. He was months away from turning forty-two. Along with the envelope containing his divorce, there was another one with his name written in penmanship he knew all too well. Hers.

He opened the envelope hoping something, anything but what he saw. Jack remained rooted to his spot, looking at the white piece of paper, too astounded to do anything else.

_Samantha Carter & Jonas Hanson_

_Cordially invite you to their wedding celebration._

He read it several times, not quite believing what he was seeing. He lowered it to the countertop. Clenching his jaw as he felt his heartbreak all over again for this girl. His best friend. His Sam. Jack wanted to cry. To kill the Hanson guy and claim her as his. However, no matter how many years had passed since he had met her, Jack had never dared to tell her how exactly he felt for her. He always thought he was too damn old. A drag, really, for such a clever young woman.

It was then that he noticed it. There was a small personal card poking out of the envelope. Surprised, he picked the envelope up from the countertop where it lay forgotten until then. Taking out the card that had remained behind.

He looked at the piece of paper. Somehow her personal card had wound up inside his envelope. Jack wondered what the hell it was that doing there.

For some mysterious reason, he turned it over and gasped. There was a short note on the back, written on her unmistakable curvy cursive.

 _"Jack,_ " it started, and he held his breath.

_"I'm getting married. Can you believe it? I don't. You see, I'm getting married, but I have to confess that the greatest love of my life -the only man I've truly loved- has always been my best friend. The one who, at some point, was my only friend. It has always been you. All my love, Sam."_

The date comes. He dresses in a black suit to be able to mix with the crowd. She'd send him the invite. Most likely she wanted him there. The truth is, he's ready to stop the wedding, but he married too, at some point. What right does he have to take what seems to be, at least, some bit of happiness away from her?

He shows up, nonetheless. The church is empty. The lights are dimmed, and he sits in a pew waiting for people to fill up the place. He checks his watch several times until it's obvious he got the date wrong. A priest sits beside him and he tenses. He doesn't quite like priests. He doesn't quite like churches either. But he's here… For her.

"Son, I've seen you sitting here for hours. Are you in need of God?"

"I needed God a long while ago, Father," he barked out painfully. "He never had the decency to show up for me," Jack finished. Wondering if that was the bitterness that the sixteen years old Carter had felt back then. Wondering if she still felt it.

"God's always there. There are times where it's just hard to see him. Sometimes, it looks like a her, too." He said, sounding a bit all-knowing to Jack's ears.

"The only thing I was searching for today, is a wedding that hasn't happened," Jack let out if only so the priest would leave him alone.

"Today?" The father frowns in confusion until something seems to dawn on him. "It was called off."

"Called off?"

"Yes. I don't know the details. The father of the bride-to-be was here, to call it off."

Hope blossoms in his chest. Yet, there's an issue. He doesn't know where to find her. He tries, but he never does. By the time his next orders arrive, it makes sense for him to take them.

His marriage with Sarah has been broken even before it started. He knows because he's the one to blame. He lured her in, cared for her, all the while pretending Sarah was someone else. So, he couldn't blame his ex-wife when three years early she'd called him a selfish son of a bitch, grabbed their kid, and took off. How could he? She was right.

He tried to keep in touch with them, if only for their kid. It's hard because he's deployed most of the time. Going into obscure missions, he doesn't quite know if he'll survive. On top of that, there's all the crap he carries inside since he got back from that hellhole in Iraq.

To top it all, Sam wasn't anywhere to be found. He has no idea that she's in an induced coma. The only way Doctors thought fit to help her recover from the beating her fiancé gave her after he found out about Jack O'Neill. He has no idea, she hasn't contacted him simply because she can't. He has no idea he's the reason she can't, to begin with.

So, it makes sense to him to take the mission they entrust him with. Who would care for a forty-two years old devastated man with so much baggage on his shoulders? One that had fallen in love with a woman so damn young, that he had actually babysat her at some point. Who could care about Jack O'Neill?


	7. 1997

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oi! Sorry about this... I was supposed to publish it a long while ago but life...  
> Anyway, I'm pretty sure this one is the one you've been waiting for, so...  
> I'll let you to it :D

He's been in worse situations, but now he must find Daniel. The guy who convinced him that not everything was lost. That Sam, whoever she is… was somewhere back on Earth and alive. That maybe she was having the same issues finding him, as he was having to find her.

So, he didn't blow up himself or Abydos. Now, three years later, that comes right back to bite his tired old ass. He's a forty-five-year-old Colonel now. One who until months ago was boringly retired. Now, he sits on a brig, inside the same mountain that had almost managed to make him kill himself. While someone out there, figures out what the hell they're going to do with him.

He gets his orders soon after. They're going back. Going back to get Daniel. To bring him to Earth, alien wife notwithstanding. Not even a care for the off chance that the guy could've found some happiness in the three years that happened since then. "Here you go, Jack O'Neill screwing everyone's life up without intend since 1952." He mumbles because it's not just him. It's Kawalsky, Ferreti, Sarah, Charlie, and a long list of people who he had 'touched' and brought along in his weird version of a shitty life. Including his own parents, he sighs.

Still, he gets on his blues and goes down to the briefing room and they wait. Then they wait some more. "We are waiting for Sam Carter," Hammond says and Jack's heart goes wild. 'There are plenty of Carters in the USAF, right? It could be anyone, really.' He pep-talks himself.

He knows he's wildly projecting his own desires for this Sam Carter to be his Sam. It seems wrong to want it to be her of all the people. When they're planning on retrieving a guy, then blowing up the planet, he'd been living on. When she'd already witnessed a shitty world.

"She's transferring from the Pentagon." She says. He tries not to look shocked, but he does. It's her. It's his Sam. His best friend forever. The woman he loves. Yet, is not quite her either. There's something dull and tired in her voice. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the heavy makeup that doesn't do much to cover the black circles around her eyes.

"Colonel, I was studying the 'gate technology for two years before Daniel Jackson made it work. Before you both when through. I should have gone through then. Sir, you and your men might as well accept the fact that I am going through this time."

He slips. He calls her Doctor, and she squints her eyes at him. What he really wants to know is why wasn't she available, and how it relates to the wedding that she didn't go through with back then. He really doesn't mind that she's all but dissing him and his men since she walked inside the briefing room. He can't because she has always been a spitfire, and he just knew that would get her far.

But not a suicide mission under his command far… Not that far, at all… That was utterly unexpected.

Yet, here they are. Gearing up to find Daniel Jackson and blow up his planet. Actually, there she is, gearing up. Because she's the only female on the whole damn base and there are no female locker rooms, so the three of them must suck it up and wait until she's done.

Ferreti and Kawalksy giggle like smitten kittens while he paces to and fro in the corridor. They can't just rush to the embarkation room without her. Actually… "Why don't you go start the thing. I'll wait for her." They look at him with a knowing smile. They think they have him all figured out and that the poor thing doesn't stand a chance for battling him.

She finally walks out. Jack realizes she's actually been faster than the three of them. She stops dead in her track, eyes wide as she lets out a breath.

"Sir," she says in that same tone she'd used way back then when she was just a cadet. It melts the walls he thought he had and forces him to take a deep breath.

"Carter. If we come out of this one alive. We need to talk before the next steps. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." She grins.

"So… What's that thing that kept you from going the first time?" He asks, curiosity getting the best of him. She shrugs.

"We better let that be for the if we come alive thing." She grimaces.

They make it out alive, and now everything seems to be even worse than before. It's not only the world that it's falling to pieces, but there's a war they have no control over. One they just brought it to their planet.

What makes it even worse is there's Daniel. Mourning for a wife he hasn't quite lost, and he's also homeless. Dead and about to be brought back to life. There's no way he can just let the man who had once saved him to sulk all by himself on a depressing military base.

So, he brings him home. Not before he slips his address to her, because a heartbroken man in his living room or not, they really need to talk. They need to solve this before they get stuck in a lifetime of nothingness. Carrying a love for each other that's proven star-crossed too many times.

She goes around the house. She doesn't quite know why, but she remembers that's how they used to get into his house when she was a kid. He sees her from the window and waves her in. Doctor Daniel Jackson lays sprawled out on his couch, deeply asleep.

"You came," Jack whispers when she's in; standing out and walking her to the side

"You asked me to," she points out. Shuffling her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. The fact that she'd declared her love for him on a piece of paper, menacing to burn her cheeks red. She blushes anyway when he takes a step closer and then another. Until she doesn't have anywhere else to go and he is invading her personal space.

"Marry me," he whispers almost against her lips. She yelps in surprise at the question.

"What?"

"What you wrote on that note, has it changed?" He asks. Mesmerized by the way his breath tickles her lips. She shakes her head no. "Then, marry me."

"I don't understand," she states because she really doesn't. He's forty-five and married for all that she knows. But then again, his house doesn't exactly look… homey.

"Look, my gut tells me that's the best thing we could do right now. Before things get screwed up and our careers come in between. Marry me, and we can figure out the rest as it comes." She studies him for a while. Who could she kid? She has been in love with this man since she saw him in their garden back when she was seven.

"Why?" She manages to ask. Although all she wants to say is yes if that's what it takes for him to finally clash his lips with hers. It's been so long, and there's only that kiss she robbed him, way back when she was sixteen.

"Because, I've been in love with you for longer than I can remember, Sam." He says, caressing her cheek softly. He doesn't tell her she was seven when he figured it out. Because that's too damn weird. Yet, she lowers his head and his mouth finally claims hers.

She moans against him. He tugs her towards his room. They kiss languidly for what seems hours, just enjoying feeling loved. They fall asleep out of the sheer exhaustion they both carry.

They face Hammond a few days later. The General frowns. They're married and with that, their orders don't clash with their relationship.

"I will let you go, as long as you can both keep this thing out of the way. The moment I figure you can't. I'll remove one of you from SG-1."

"Thank you, sir," Jack says. Hammond doesn't do that for him. He doesn't really trust Jack O'Neill to keep his word. He's broken the damn rules so many times that Hammond is sure he'll just break them again. It's Sam's gleeful expression that gets him.

Hammond knows he's responsible for bringing her here. He'll be damned if he ruins her life by getting her killed. He can distrust O'Neill all he wants, but he knows of all the officers available for SG-1, O'Neill is the one that will keep his goddaughter alive.

Years only prove him right.


	8. 2001

He's forty-nine when his thirty-two-year-old wife tells him with no uncertainty that in five more months they're going to be parents. It's quite an accident that it happened. Since it had to do with armbands, extra fast pleasure, and how that event was affected with it all. At least, that's how Janet explained it.

The eye-roll from Hammond's that came after that was as if he had predicted something like this happening, added to the way Jacob Carter's ones were alight with joy. If he was honest with himself, Jacob Carter would never have given this man an opportunity to have anything to do with his daughter. Not when he remembers quite vividly how they met. When his Sammie was nothing but a snaggletooth child.

When he figured out this man, who used to babysit his kids, and had called him dad out of Mark's antics, was the same man he knew had done terrible things and had lost a wife and kid to the USAF. Jacob took Jack out and had several words with him.

Jack was the first one to learn Jacob had cancer. He'd helped the retired General to disclose this information to his daughter and son. When he became a Tok'ra, they were all elated to have the man around to share more than just a few months with them.

"Well, I guess you were right, most of the things you touch go to hell," Sam had joked one night as they laid in bed cuddling, after days of being unable to do so under enemy's soil. Escaping Ne'tu and saving her dad from hell. "I just never thought it would be so literal." Jack had laughed, Sam's humor had gone even darker with all the time they spent together. "In all seriousness, it's not your fault that some people you know make faulty decisions that end up screwing them up." She'd kissed him then, and he'd forgotten all about his worries being in her arms.

Four years after getting married, they couldn't be going stronger even if they tried. Just as he'd pushed her to find her dad and fix their relationship. She'd pushed him to find Sarah and fix his relationship with his boy. The kid deserved as much. When Sarah saw Sam, she understood many things she hadn't before, including the truth of why he'd married her first. Sam saw it, too. The similarities were many, and their kid could've well passed as Sam's.

Once the boy was back in Jack's life. They'd threaded every mission even more carefully. The kid had lost him long enough and shouldn't lose him now. Cassandra Fraiser also added to that care. Yet, when those armbands had closed against their arms, and they had felt the consequences of it... They decided they had to act.

It wasn't really their fault that Freya had pushed a sex experiment, and it had intrigued them enough to try. It was making love on steroids. There was no chance they would've said no to that. They had rejected the idea of being watched by the Tok'ra why they were going at it, though. Raising all sorts of complaints from the scientist. Janet had worried about it and the consequences, but they were too high to even try to pay attention to what their friend was telling them.

Now, around week thirty-seven after the experiment-fiasco, Ava Carter O'Neill decides she wants out. Screaming her little lungs out, looking like a white and red messy blob. She has the second most beautiful set of blue eyes he's ever seen. He knows it's too early and there's a chance they'll change to brown like Charlie's had, but he's enamored, nonetheless.

"What?" Sam asks as she feels his eyes on her. She feels exhausted, dirty, and overall a mess. She knows he's seen her worse, so she doesn't fret.

"I love you."

"I love you too," She grins. "Besides… you're my best friend forever. You're stuck with me, pal."

"That I am, and being stuck with you... well, of that, I won't ever complain." Sam smiles. Pulling him slightly for a kiss as their daughter rests in her arms.

The image of his two girls makes his heart flutter in his chest. Sam has owned his heart for longer than she knows. From a childish friendship to a passionate attraction and a companionable love, that knows no boundaries.

So, he's not quite shocked that Ava takes it all with the first not quite opened gaze she gives him. She's only hours old and Jack's completely in love.

It's a different kind of love, he reckons. But he starts to understand that no matter how cliché it seems… Love really has no age.

**The end :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we reached the end of this journey! Thank you all for reading and commenting!


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